Marilyn Wheeler McCormack

Marilyn Wheeler McCormack passed away in her sleep on April 7, 2023 in Oakland, CA; she was 88 years of age. She was born in Ogden, Utah on November 15, 1934, the only daughter among the four children of Russell Claire Wheeler and Ellen Maude Wheeler. 

Marilyn spent a lot of her youth playing with her brothers, which may have contributed to her adventurous and slightly rebellious spirit. At the age of 20, she began to work at Hill Air Force Base, perhaps inspired by her decorated war-hero brother Kenneth.  Whatever caused the interest, it would open the door to her first big adventure: California. 

Marilyn moved to Southern California in the late 1950s, where she became a flight attendant (stewardess in those days) for Western Airlines. She jetted around the US for a few years, even visiting Cuba at one point, then she took a job at Hughes Aircraft, where she met and married Richard McCormack in 1963. Marilyn gave birth to their only son, Ryan, in January of 1967. 

Rich and Marilyn chose to go their separate ways in 1971. Several years later, Marilyn rekindled the flames with a high-school sweetheart in Virginia, Rodger Moore, whom she married, but their stars weren’t aligned either. When they parted, Marilyn and Ryan drove across the country, enjoying many of the great national parks and natural wonders in America. 

Upon her arrival back in Southern California, Marilyn used her smarts and resourcefulness to start a small, yet thriving, alteration and dress-making business. She and her brother Boyd also co-invested in a beachfront apartment building in Laguna Beach, which she managed for over a decade, until Ryan graduated High School. 

Her duties as a Mom dispatched, Marilyn packed up her three cats and took off on her next adventure driving an RV across America for two years. She wintered in Vermont and Grant’s Pass Oregon, finally settling down and building a house in Grand Junction, Colorado where her brother Boyd lived. She wound up spending more than 25 years there, sewing, playing bridge, spoiling her kitties, tending her garden and watching the sunsets over the book cliffs. She spent her final years in Oakland, CA near her son, daughter-in-law Elaine Hsieh and grandson Atticus. 

Marilyn was a devoted, loving mother, an adventurous spirit, and an independent, strong woman. She was loved dearly by her family and she will be missed. 

Marilyn is survived by Ryan, Elaine and Atticus, her brother Dale and his wife Mary, and nieces and nephews Darren, Kirk, Jen, Jody, Todd and Jill. 

Graveside services will be held on Monday, April 17, 2023 at 11 a.m. at Ogden City Cemetery, 1875 Monroe Blvd. Friends may visit with family from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd.

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